FD Buyer: Making In-Store Execution Happen
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from Frozen & Dairy Buyer magazine.
Prioritized and timely communication between headquarters and the stores is essential to improving in-store execution, according to Dan Raftery, president of Raftery Resource Network.
"That doesn't happen by accident -- you have to actively manage the flow of instructions out to the stores," said Mr. Raftery in an interview with FD Buyer. "That can be done manually or through an automated gatekeeper system like RedPrairie's. Without a gatekeeper, multiple messages on the same subject go to stores, and you've got chaos. It's a huge problem for store personnel when they are bombarded with messages from many different sources, some of them conflicting."
Mr. Raftery, who served as a manager at Lucky Stores early in his career, advises headquarters to send communication to stores as close as possible to the time that the action needs to be done. Also, parse communications out over the course of a week, rather than all on one day.
"The store has to know what action needs to be done and when," underscored Mr. Raftery. "For example, if the ad runs on Wednesday, the display needs to be up by 8 o'clock that morning. For new item cut-ins, the store needs to know when the coupon drops, so that the item is on the shelf by then."
Multiple messages not only drive confusion but desensitize people to what's important.
"People in stores do what they need to do, when they need to do it," said Mr. Raftery. "Everything else is put on hold. Headquarters should communicate with that same rationale. Don't send a message with two weeks' notice, then one week's notice, and then a day's notice. If you are doing that, stop it now."
When there is a major category reset, a team should be set up to reset as many stores as possible.
"Focus on lower volume stores, because they are harder to reset," said Mr. Raftery. "Inventory moves slower, so there's more on the shelf to deal with. Plus, these stores have less available labor. Finally, most folks do this anyway, but do let your vendors know about your reset schedules for categories, so they present their new items in time to be considered, rather than having to wait for another cycle. Don't send out five or six planogram modifications between cycles. Schedule your work and work your schedule."
Discussion Questions: What's the best way to improve communications between headquarters and stores to drive in-store execution? What do you think of the tips offered in the article? Are there any you would add?